to approve the new constitution. john dickinson of maryland, delaware, and pennsylvania was the only founding figure present and active in every phase of the revolution from the stamp act crisis to the ratification of the constitution. >> authored jane calvert talks about her book, a biography of john dickinson, on book notes plus with brian lamb. it's available on the c-span now free mobile app or wherever you get podcasts. >> c-span. democracy unfiltered. we are funded by these television companies and more, including comcast. >> you think this is just a community center? it is way more than that. comcast is partnering with 1000 community centers to create wi-fi enabled listings so students from low income families can get the tools they need to be ready for anything. >> comcast supports c-an as a public service, along with these

other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> next, protests held by democrats and activists outside the consumer financial protection bureau in washington with representative maxine waters of california and massachusetts senator elizabeth warren, calling out elon musk for instructing the department of government efficiency to make cuts to the bureau, which was established in 2011 to can -- to protect consumer finances after the 2008 financial crisis. next, the protests held by

democrats and activists outside the consumer financial protection bureau in washington, d.c. with representative maxine waters of california and massachusetts senator elizabeth warren. they called out elon musk for instructing the department of government efficiency to make cuts to the bureau which was established in 2011 to protect consumers finances after the 2008 financial crisis. >> we are here today because elon musk -- they infiltrated the consumer financial protection bureau. they are trying to shut it down, helping to delete it, but we are not going to let them get away with it. one of our secret weapons is that the public actually understands what this little

agency does. the consumer financial protection bureau stands up for consumers when credit card companies and banks try to rip us off. elon musk and the trump administration are squarely on the side of higher credit card fees, higher bank fees, and more abusive junk fees. elon musk -- all with their hijinks and chaos are actually after one thing, stealing from the american people. they are stealing from you. so i want you to say it with me. they are stealing from you. they are stealing from you. when trump and elon musk tell the hard-working silver servants in this building to stop cracking down on credit card

companies that charge abusive fees, what is he up to? >> they are stealing from you. >> and when elon musk and his minions try to undo the role that brought down overdraft fees from $32 to eight dollars, what is he doing? >> they are stealing from you. >> when elon musk insists medical debt, which was just taken off our credit score reports, that will now be used to jack up the cost of your home or car loan, what is he doing? >> they are stealing from you. >> that is right. elon musk and the trump administration are stealing from you by trying to shut down and delete the cfpb. [crowd booing] >> they are stealing your data for their own greedy ends, and soon, they will try to pass giant tax cuts for big banks, big credit card companies, and for billionaires like elon musk

and donald trump himself. we are going to stop them together. and of course, there is no one better to lead us in that effort than the lady herself who created the cfpb. we all know that is senator elizabeth warren, which the progressive change institute has worked with, fighting by her side since she first ran for senate. we cannot wait to hear her inspiring remarks. who is excited to hear from senator warren? i hate to tell you there's going to be one more person first who is also inspiring and incredibly important in this fight. i'm going to bring up ezra from indivisible who is going to introduce the senator from

massachusetts. thank you. >> hey, everybody. i am not elizabeth warren. i am from indivisible. thank you. thank you. >> i do want to praise our incredible partners in this progressive change institute. give it up. we got move on, americans for financial reform, but especially cfpb, union 335. these are the workers who are protecting us from the big banks, from the financial scammers. give them some love. let's hear it. give them some love. i have to brag a little bit because last week, last week, when elon musk started reading the treasury, -- i think i hear a senator coming soon. she's coming up soon. we are going to get to you. we will get to you. last week when elon musk started

raiding the treasury, i have got to say, there was a little bit of a sluggish response from some of our congressional allies. i did not love to see it. we had 50,000 people on a call and what we are asking folks to do is go around to your own senators offices where you live and tell them, stop elon musk. in that one little call within 24 hours, there were 300 events, all over the country, in every single state save mississippi. every single state just about. on tuesday, who here was at the treasury building on tuesday. we have thousands of people calling on senators to shut it down, shut it down, shut it down. shut it down. [crowd chanting "shut it down"] >> that was on tuesday. on wednesday, you know what our colleagues did?

they shut it down. they shut it down. they listened to you. they used up all their time that they could to slow down the senate and fight back against russell, that human embodiment of project 2025. [crowd booing] >> we are reaching the boo part of this. i'm glad we are getting there. he got through. he's now trying to shut down the cfpb. that is what he is trying to do. how did he get into office? i'm going to get a few names. senator susan collins of maine, senator thom tillis of north carolina, senator dan sullivan of alaska. senator john of ohio. senator joni ernst of iowa. do you know what all those folks share in common? at least two things. they all voted for russell. they are all up for reelection next year. trump and elon musk want you to

feel powerless. are you powerless? they want congressional democrats to feel powerless. are they powerless? ok. let's get specific. if you have been -- luck, i love a good chance but we are not just here to chant. we are going to do some organizing together and make impact in real time together as a group. so here is what i am going to say. we are headed into a showdown with congressional republicans and you know what they are doing right now? they are asking for democratic votes to give money to trump and elon musk to continue to rate our government. should democrats give them those votes? that's right. but what should they do? here's what i am going to say. we should be asking them, withhold your vote. withhold your vote. withhold your vote. withhold your vote. [crowd chanting "withhold your

vote"] >> ok, wait, why are you chanting at me? i am not a senator. i am not a representative. what can i do? what is that? i am just hearing that we have got members of congress here with us today. [crowd cheering] >> we have more than 15 members of congress. s even from my famil -- even from my favorite members of congress, this is an organizing moment and there is a responsibility to put the questions even to our best friends in the senate. >> -- coming over. coming over. >> testing. testing. ok. i don't want to leave senator warren here standing too much longer. whew.

here is my asked. senator warren, as you come up and speak to us and inspire us, can you commit to withholding your vote until this constitutional crisis is over? [crowd cheering] senator warren: i am so glad to be here with you today. my name is elizabeth warren. and i am here with you to fight for our consumer financial protection bureau. the cfpb is the cop on the beat and that cop is the one that caught the crooks and so far has made them give back $21 billion.

that cop is the one that put that $21 billion right back into the hands of the american people that got cheated. that cop is the one who has worked day by day to get your money back when some slimeball decided they could cheat you and there wouldn't be anything you can do about it. now, the cfpb is the little agency that has fought for us and we are here today to fight for the cfpb. let's give a huge cheer for the cfpb. donald trump ran his campaign on

lowering costs for working families. yeah, now he and his copresident, elon musk -- [crowd booing] senator warren: have tried to shut down the agency that has delivered $21 billion to hard-working families. $21 billion to people who got cheated, and trump and elon musk want to just take that agency away. donald trump and elon musk have told the financial cops at the cfpb to stand down. think about this. i want you to think about this for a moment. no matter how big the scam, no matter how bold the trap, they have said, just stand by and let the wall street boys take your money.

[crowd booing] we are here to fight back. we want our financial cops back on the beach. yup. this is a fight and i want you to watch who this fight is between. this is a fight between millions of hard-working people who just don't want to get cheated and a handful of billionaires like elon musk who want the chance to cheat them. so here is how we have to think about this. for every person who wants to buy a home without getting scammed, this fight is your fight. for every family that doesn't want to get put out on the street in an illegal foreclosure

, this is your fight. for every student who wants to borrow money to go to school without getting defrauded, this is your fight. for every member of our military who doesn't want to get trapped by some sleazy payday lender -- say it with me -- this is your fight. for every person who borrows money to buy a car and doesn't want to get trapped in the fine print, this is your fight. for every american who doesn't want to see wall street crash our economy again, this is your fight. oh, and for every american who doesn't want some weird elon musk suck up searching through your personal private data, this is your fight.

your fight, my fight, our fight, and we will win this fight. because understand this. this fight is about more than one little agency. this fight is about more than just our financial rules and regulations. this fight is about more than just democrat versus republican politics. this fight is about hard-working people versus the billionaires who want to squeeze more and more and more money out of them. and now, now is our time to put a stop to this. look, these billionaires are making their moves right out in the open. look at elon musk, please.

no, just look. he invested $288 million to buy an election for donald trump. and now, he is right here to collect on that investment. elon musk owns x, which has been losing money like crazy. he has a plan for the new payment platform called its money. -- x money. he wants it to touch every part of your financial life. but elon has got a problem, the financial cops. the cfpb is there to make sure that elon's new project can't

scam you or steal your sensitive personal data so you mons -- e lon's solution, get rid of the cops, kill the cfpb. this is like a bank robber trying to fire the cops and turn off the alarms just before he strolls into the lobby. we are here to fight back. so i got to ask, are you ready to stand up to the scammers? are you ready to push back against the fraudsters? are you ready to say no to elon musk? look, after the 2008 financial crash and the big bank bailout, congress created the cfpb to protect people from getting swindled.

congress built it and no one other than congress, not donald trump, not elon musk, no one can fire the financial cops. [crowd cheering] senator warren: we are fighting back. and understand this, there is power in fighting back, real power. we, the people, not elon musk. we, the people, have the real power in this country and we are going to use that power. so here it is. are you ready to fight for the little agency that fights for us? are you ready to fight the billionaires who are trying to take over this country? are you ready to say no to elon musk?

we will fight it out in congress. we will fight it out in the courts. we will fight it out across this country, and i promise you, we will win. >> give it up for senator elizabeth warren. [applause] ok, we've got a lot of champions here today. we have another senator coming up, and remember -- remind me, what are we asking our elected officials right now? something about withholding something, withhold your vote. senator chris van hollen, my senator from maryland, i've got to ask you, are you willing to withhold your vote until this constitutional crisis is over? sen. van hollen: i am and no more business as usual in the united states senate.

[applause] let's give it up for elizabeth warren, who helped create the cfpb. [cheers and applause] so elon musk wants to shut down the cfpb, but we're here to say we're going to shut down elon musk's illegal operation. [applause] you know, the consumer financial protection bureau has returned billions of dollars to americans who were victims of fraudsters, of cheaters, and scammers, and so there's something particularly sick, particularly twisted about the richest man in the world trying to shut down that compensation for americans who have been cheated by scammers. are we going to shut down the elon musk operation?

>> yeah! sen. van hollen: you bet we are, because as elizabeth warren said, and you know, this is a small organization and it's taken on some very powerful interests. it's the cop on the beat, but all those cheaters and scammers, they don't want it to succeed. and so that's why they brought elon musk in to do their dirty work for them. are we going to let them get away with that? >> no! sen. van hollen: hell no. this is the most corrupt bargain in american history. elon musk spent over $280 million to elect donald trump, and donald trump has given elon musk the keys to the united states government. are we going to let that stand? this is a takeover. you see what they're doing here at the cfpb.

you saw what happened over the treasury department, the biggest heist of americans' sensitive personal information that we've ever seen. are we going to let that stand? they access social security information. they access banking information. a judge told them to cut it out, and you probably heard the vice president of the united states saying, i'm not sure a judge has that power. well, judges have that power. they have the power to apply the law. so all of us need to do what we're doing right here stand, unite, and fight democracy over oligarchy. stop the billionaire grift. nobody elected elon, and that's why it's important that the american people gather here, because i will close with this.

their ultimate goal is to shut down important services for the american people. they just shut down and they just, they just deeply cut monies that are spent in medical research, to help develop cures and treatments for cancer. they shut down funds for the agency for international development that helps stop the spread of diseases overseas, which not only saves lives overseas but stops those diseases from spreading here in the united states. and when they cut all those important programs for the american people, they've been at the department of education, they've been over at cms with the medicare files. they've been throughout the government. what they want to do is they then want to give this big fat tax cut to elon musk and the billionaires. are we going to let them do that? >> no! sen. van hollen: hell no, we're not going to let them do that, because when donald trump on inauguration day said it's going to be a new golden age for

america, he did not mean the people he said he had campaigned for. he didn't mean the forgotten americans. he meant elon musk and the tech titans who were standing right behind him. so this is a great fraud. this is the great betrayal we're seeing in the first 21 days, and we're here to blow the whistle and say hell no, we're going to shut down the elon musk operation. are we going to do that? let's do it together. all right. and now one of my great heroes, maxine waters. [cheers and applause] rep. waters: wow, wow, wow. look at this crowd. elon musk, where are you? bring your ass over here, so you can see who's here and what we're doing. we're not afraid of you. we know that you. you are the co-president now of the united states of america,

. but ladies and gentlemen, i want you to follow very closely what he's doing and how he has done it. first of all, we're here at the consumer financial protection bureau. what is it? this is so important. prior to this being organized in the dodd-frank reforms, consumers didn't have any place to really file complaints. they didn't have anywhere to go when the biggest banks in america was ripping them off. the student loans were being undermined. they didn't have any place to go. but guess what? the consumer financial protection bureau was organized in a way to deal with people who are the victims of fraud by the biggest corporations in america. [applause] and so what do they do? they're holding mega banks

accountable both for violating the law. they're protecting service members from illegal fees, high interest loans, and false advertising. stops discrimination in housing and the u.s. economy, protects students from scams. why does elon musk want to get rid of all of this? because he's a thief. he's a gangster. he brings his billionaire friends along with him, because they think that they can take over this country, and trump has said, you give me enough money, you can have it, and that's what he has done. he has turned over our country to elon musk. we didn't elect him. we didn't select him. we didn't ask for him, and we don't want him. [applause] and so if he thinks we're pushovers, he got another thought coming. we are prepared to fight.

we're prepared to fight. and while he is collecting all of the data, he has violated our privacy. he has violated our privacy, and he keeps going. well, you know, we fought him over at treasury. remember he took his little gangsters in, and they stole our private information, and we organized in the way that we're doing today. he was surprised as hell. he didn't know that we would come together in the way that we're doing. usaid. he went in there. why did he go? it is my understanding he was already under investigation by usaid. and so he went in there to steal all of the records to get all of the data, but guess what, it's something bigger going on with him and trump. elon is over in south africa threatening ramaphosa, the

president of south africa, and telling him we are coming in here. i'm gonna create a whole battery factory, but you guys work to get something i believe in your constitution that says that the black south africans and people who we fought for to get rid of apartheid now can have 30% in all of the foreign businesses that come in. elon musk said, i'm going to build a battery factory. i want you to get rid of that 30%. and so, we said no and so i've talked with the ambassador from south africa. they're fighting, they're struggling, but guess what happened? trump announced that they're going to get rid of all the foreign aid if he doesn't do it. and they're reorganizing, reorganizing all of the right-wing old people that we fought in order to get rid of apartheid. but now these gangsters are

going to threaten and bluff them and take over south africa by going in and developing all of elon's businesses in the battery factory. this is thievery. this is gangsterism. this is no respect for anything or anybody. well, i want you to know that we are not afraid of anything and anybody. [applause] we have worked too hard. we have fought too hard for this democracy, and we ain't turning it over to elon musk. >> that's right! rep. waters: i want elon musk to know that we're going to stop him. i don't care what he thinks about his power. i don't care what he thinks about his ownership of this country. first of all, i want to applaud the courts. they're doing a pretty damn good job right now.

they're doing a pretty damn good job, but they will be as strong as we are. when we show up in the numbers like we're doing today, it sends a message to the court that we mean business. do we mean business? [cheers and applause] now, ladies and gentlemen, we got to send another message out here, and the message is, for all of you who voted for him, you didn't know he was going to get you, too. and so we want you to come forward, and i want you to say i voted, but i changed my mind. i didn't know that he was going to get me, too. i didn't know that he was going to make sure that anybody in any of these agencies where we want to go in and capture all of this data, which we will monetize.

he's all about money. all of it will be monetized. i'm so proud to be here with you today. one of the greatest achievements of my career has been the consumer financial protection bureau. [cheers and applause] and let me just wrap this up by saying i was there when we created the consumer financial protection bureau. and the dodd frank reforms, remember that? and we created that and i've worked with it. they have fought us. the republicans have tried to destroy it. we've won in the supreme court, but we were smart. when we -- when we organized it, we made sure they didn't have to go through the appropriations process. they get their funding directly from the feds. . [applause] and just as we work to protect it so that their money would not be taken from them in the

appropriations process, we're going to work now to make sure that he's not going to kill the consumer financial protection bureau. we're not going to allow it. they lied on us when we were over at the department of education. they said -- that's what trump said. he said that we were breaking in. we ain't breaking in nowhere. we're using our power, we're using our collective power. we're standing up. we're speaking out, and this is our country, and we're not going to let elon musk have it. he can't have it. so elon, come here and face us. bring your ass on over here. come on over here and face us so you can hear from us. you can see us. you can look us in the eye. we're not afraid. are we going to buy? >> yes! rep. waters: are we going to win? is this our country?

>> yeah! rep. waters: are we going to let it be sold? >> no! rep. waters: are we going to tell trump get out of the way and take your thieving elon musk with you. thank you very much. >> yeah. representative maxine waters, everybody, incredible. ok, we've got, we've got a line up here of a lot of fighters, and what do we want to see from our fighters? we've got frank pallone from new jersey. representative pallone, can i ask you, are you willing to withhold your vote until this constitutional crisis is over? rep. pallone: i'm absolutely withholding my vote, and we just want to thank you. we got -- we got a lot of democratic members of congress here from all over the country, and we just want to thank you all, because you have the power , and it's just great to see so many people here today united to fight against elon musk and trump and what they're trying to do with the consumer agency.

now i just want to say very briefly, in my home state of new jersey last year, there were 1000 people that filed complaints with the with the cfpb, and as has been mentioned, if it didn't exist and if it wasn't really robust, they would not have a place to go, and that's why this is so important , because the billionaires have a place to go, but the little guy often does not, and they have it here in this agency, and i want to tell you, back in my district, i don't care if it's, you know, payday lenders or it's medical debt or it's overdraft fees. people are hurting and it's only because of this agency that they have someone to fight for them against all these predatory practices. so once again, thank you again, thank you for what you do, and we're going to continue the fight. thanks. >> right. when we fight! >> we win!

>> when we fight! >> we win! >> ok, i'm really pleased to introduce our next speaker. representative ayanna pressley is in the house. where's she? i think i know the answer to this, but representative pressley, are you willing to withhold your vote until this constitutional crisis is over? rep. pressley: absolutely. last week, i saw a sign in the crowd that said doge stands for dangerous oligarchs grab at

everything. and i said it then and i'll say it again. that elon musk needs to keep his grubby hands, his greedy grubby hands off of our government. [cheers and applause] you know, i don't know about all of you, but i'm having a hard time sleeping at night. my daughter is 16 years old and looking at colleges, and i'm so worried about the world that she's living in now in the world that she will inherit. and i asked myself, you know, how do we get here? how were working men and women convinced to believe that a failed businessman who was godless and lawless could lead them anywhere. because he lied. because he's a liar and a crook. but you know he's been given a lot of oxygen. i want to give you all some. you're all here when you could have been anywhere else. because you give a damn. you give a damn about this country, you give a damn about our democracy, you give a damn about your neighbors. you are the true patriots. [applause] now, you may not have an occupant in the oval office that cares about lifting your burdens

and lightening your loads and harnessing your dreams to make them real. but know that the democrats to stand behind me, they have got your back. [applause] and we will stand up and we will fight until they stand down, because we are going to match their energy. [applause] elon musk and your muskrats. [laughter] elon musk, i mean donald trump, same thing at this point, right? who really is the president, donald? donald trump ran on a promise to bring down costs for everyday people, didn't have a plan for it, but said he would. well, donald, how's that going? i'll ask you all, how's it going? are your eggs cheaper? is your housing more affordable? >> no! rep. pressley: tell me how letting elon put his paws in the

cookie jar is helping a single person who calls this country home. families are struggling. the rent is too damn high. the cost of groceries is too damn high. the big banks and giant corporations are all too eager to nickel and dime hard-working people, and you know what has been a saving grace for families trying to hold on to a buck? this small but mighty government agency, the consumer financial protection bureau. [cheers and applause] now look, those of you watching, you may have never heard of them. you know, isn't it just the truth that you don't know how much you benefit from your government or your democracy until someone comes through with a wrecking ball and creates a constitutional crisis with an unprecedented power grab. you've never heard of them, but trust me, they've been working hard for you, the people, for over a decade.

they are the same agency that got banks to cap overdraft fees. they take on scammers that are after our elders' money. they stop the medical debt from dinging your credit report. they go after banks that practice lending discrimination. this is what we're going to dismantle? what in the hell kind of government efficiency is that? no justice for scammed elders? look, let me tell you something. i'll take a bit of umbrage here. i'll speak on behalf of my colleagues. i think i can say we are all willing to work with anyone who's serious about doing the work of censoring the american people and advancing progress, but they are not serious. this is not about government efficiency. what kind of efficiency makes people hungrier, poorer, and less safe?

the cfpb are watchdogs fighting for the people, so no wonder elo n and donald want to gut it. they don't want watchdogs protecting the people. they want predators and bad actors to run rampant and take people for a ride. these men just want to pillage the government and make themselves rich. meanwhile, the cfpb, this essential agency that could put $21 billion -- that's b with a billion -- dollars back in people's pockets. now, if you're elon musk, with a net worth -- are y'all ready? -- of near $400 billion. maybe that's pocket change, but not for everyday people. the good policies coming out of this place have been make or break for folks struggling to make ends meet in the midst of recessions, pandemics, and much more. so i just want to take a moment. because i told some stories and profiles about people who've been protected and helped by this agency, but i don't want this workforce to be faceless to you. can we just thank this dedicated workforce at the cfpb? [cheers and applause]

agencies across our government who have been doing this life-saving work. [cheers and applause] they take pride in this work. [crowd chanting] that's right. that's right. they do life-saving work, and this is also about their lives and their livelihoods as well. so we're grateful to them in the midst of this unprecedented assault on our democracy, and i want to say to them, the uncertainty and fear that you are feeling today is real, but i want you to know that every single person here and then some has your back. and we are going to litigate, legislate, agitate, and resist

because you are worth it. so we will see you in congress and the courts and in the streets. and i'll close it out here. again, as i think about my 16-year-old daughter. a movement sibling of all of ours, cecile richards, an incredible warrior for justice, recently transitioned. and in the midst of battling cancer, she was still out in the streets organizing and resisting, and she was asked, what are you doing here? you're still fighting when you're in a fight for your life, and her response was, the question will be asked, when everything was at stake for the country, what did you do? and the only acceptable answer will be, "everything that i could." [cheers and applause]

thank you all. representative ayanna pressley, everyone. well, now that is a tough act to follow, but we've got a couple of folks, alice cohen and marissa ditkowski, who are consumer attorneys for the cfpb on the front lines actually fighting for all of us. you're all here to tell us the actual impact of this attack on americans. we're looking for an alison and marissa. oh, here we go.

marissa: hello. hi, everyone, my name is marissa ditkowsky. i'm a multiply disabled attorney and activist on the disabilities community project, a staff attorney at cedadc, an independent public interest law center. we've represented numerous clients who have come to us after comerica bank refused to reverse unauthorized charges on their direct express cards, which are used by over 3 million people. payments for social security, veteran pensions, and disability benefits. many of these folks have disabilities or are over 65. in one case, an 87-year-old disabled client whose only source of income was social security came to us for help in disputing charges for online purchases taken out of her social security payment. she didn't even know how to use a computer. we attempted to contact america bank and hold for at least 1

one hour, if we could even get through, each time we called about five times. to make matters worse, our client relied on a prepaid phone, so each call required my client to spend resources she simply did not have. when we could get someone on the line, the agent would often hang up upon learning that an attorney was on the call. once an agent promised to send her a fraud questionnaire, but surprise surprise, never did. after about a month and a half of disputing the fraudulent claims with camerica, it became more expensive for our client to call direct express repeatedly on her prepaid phone than it was for her to stop disputing the final fraudulent charge and assume liability for this loss. that's why the cfpb just two months ago sued bank for conduct that includes deliberately disconnecting 24 million customer service calls and mishandling fraud complaints. but work on that case has now halted. yes, boo is right. the cfpb's move to hold america accountable for violations of federal laws and regulations was so critical. not everyone has a lawyer to support them, and even those who do can't always get the relief they're looking for. lawsuits like this one addressing systemic violations help to keep consumers like my

client safe. thank you. >> thank you. [applause] thank you. alys: good evening, allies. i am alys cohen from the national consumer law center, and this is my colleague nclc associate director lauren saunders. homeowners around the nation have the cfpb to thank for a mortgage market that roots out fraud and abuse and for the fact that when families hit a bump in the road, companies are required to work with you to find an affordable solution. let me tell you about one family who, after multiple significant hardships, saved their home because of the cfpb. the son of elderly homeowners in a rural county in maine

, scattered with family farms, bought his parents' home, so they could live out the rest of their lives there, and he could live with and care for them. due to medical issues and job loss, he soon after lost his salary and instead received social security, disability, and food stamps. he fell behind on the mortgage. he cut back on everything he could -- groceries, heat, hot water, gifts, going out. he felt overcome with guilt that he could not make the payments and suffered from depression. he saw that his mother suffered from anxiety around losing the home too, and that made him feel more guilt and shame. when he asked for mortgage help, his loan company, a company that the cfpb has sued, offered him an expensive plan that set him up to fail, instead of the affordable one their policies required. >> boo!

alys: the monthly payment was 150% of his monthly income on disability. and it required an initial payment that was 200% of his monthly income. the son and his parents pooled their resources and made payments, but this was not sustainable. during these times, his mother passed away, and he cared for his father, who had dementia. the mortgage company should have given this family the payment they could afford, the one their policies required, but instead , they gave them years of hardship. later, the family was able to get help. and because the cfpb's rule made the difference, they were able to get that affordable payment, the one they should have been offered years earlier. [applause]

because of the cfpb, his father could live out his life in the family home. the cfpb saves homes. [cheers and applause] >> [chanting "cfpb"] >> thank you. for elon musk, this is about power. this isn't about power. this is about people. that's why we are here. that's why we are here now. we're going to hear from doug wilson with the with the cfpb union. can i -- doug, come on up, tell us the impact of this attack on people. doug: good afternoon.

thank you for being here. i'm a proud employee of the cfpb. [applause] and i am a proud member of our union, ntu chapter 335. we just want to do our jobs. artwork touches the lives of almost every american. we protect you if you have a bank account, a credit card. if you have ever taken out a loan to buy a house for your family, or an auto loan so you can drive a car to get to work, it is our job to look out for you. we are on the side of the american consumer. we are the only federal agency solely focused on protecting consumers. when payday lenders charge 400% interest, when debt collectors

harass people out of work, when credit reporting companies lose your data, we are the ones who stepped in and make it right. -- step in and make it right. what happens if the cfpb disappears? who will fight for service members targeted by predatory car loans? who will stand up for seniors being scammed out of their retirement savings? who will ensure mortgage lenders don't discriminate? we just want to get back to work. [cheers] the cfpb has protected consumers under republican and democratic presidents. we just need to keep doing this work. if you are standing with us today, we need your support more than ever. the cfpb's mission to protect consumers is not just our job, it is a commitment we share with every american who believes in fair financial markets at a fair shake in life -- and a fair

shake in life. we still your friends and family about the cfpb's work. share your stories, contact your elected representatives, and let them know a strong cfpb is essential. your voice makes a difference in this fight. together we can ensure the cfpb continues to stand up for consumers across america. to my brothers and sisters in the nte you, we are not giving up. we have our rights. we have our contract. and we are going to fight to get back to work protecting american consumers. thank you very much. [cheers] [crowd chanting "let us work"] >> we've got more members of congress here willing to fight

for the cfpb. representative, are you willing to withhold your vote until this constitutional crisis is over? >> right now. one of the greatest joys of my time in congress was to work with maxine waters, elizabeth warren, and barney frank to create the cfpb. i am going to be quick because i want to send a message to somebody. elon, take your musty millions and musty moscow rights to the moon. because if you don't, we are going to stand up, speak out, we are going to march, we are going to do anything we need to do to

make sure the people of this country understand that the cfpb is for them. you can -- you can get your musty hands off of our money. [cheers] >> short but sweet. love that. representative joyce beatty from ohio, are you willing to withhold your vote until this constitutional crisis is over. rep. beatty: i will hold my vote until they understand and respect us. i come today because we put consumer protection over profit. i come today because we stand in faith. i come today because we stand with unions. i come today because we are the people, and it is about people power. i come today because i serve on the powerful financial services committee, and maxine waters

will always be my chair. i come here today to say that we come with our executive orders. the peoples orders. i come today because we come with our notice to put on their doors, because it is the notice of the people. why are we here? we are here because we understand that we have a job to do. the people's job, together. i have come to do my black job. i have come to tell you that black and brown people, $1 trillion since 2008 on illegal foreclosures. i come to say that corporate america, we stand with the cfpb, because you will not take our cars. you will not foreclose on our homes. you will not take over, because

we represent the people's house. we represent people power. we represent standing with the people, so when you ask us if we will hold our vote, we will say to elon musk and to donald trump we are not afraid of you. bring it on, because we have people power. people power. people power. let me close saying we stand with you. we fight with you. go to war with you because we understand that we are here to represent the people's house, and you can trust us because we stand with you every day. when we go into that committee every day, our job is to make somebody uncomfortable, because they are trying to take away our power. let me say to the republicans on the other side, where are you?

when we think four out of five people stand with the cfpb, 77% of them are republicans, so where are they today? let's go knock on their door. let's go tell them we are coming with people power. your coming after everyone who does not stand with us. because we stand with you. the messages that you here today are not an idle threat. we come today because this nation is hurting. we come today because we care about people. we come today because no one elected elon musk. we come today because donald trump can't lead this nation, and he is allowing someone not elected to do the job he is supposed to do. donald trump, what does that say about you?

you don't have power, but we have people power, and we are coming after you with our people power. thank you, god bless you, and i'm congresswoman joyce beatty, and i approve this message. god bless you. >> incredible. did we elect elon musk? >> no! >> is donald trump king? >> no! >> are becoming to fight? >> yes! >> one quick question, because we want you to fire us up, are you with willing -- are you willing to withhold your vote until the constitutional crisis is over? >> you bet. thank you. i have been in the financial services committee for 32 years, working with and fighting with maxine waters.

[cheers] i was there when we were working on the legislation that created the cfpb. they fought hard. they went and tried to use the legislative vehicle, not to prevent this legislation from coming to fruition. but they did not stop there. they went all the way to the u.s. supreme court. the people won. because when we fight, we win. by the way, small businesses are consumers too. i am the ranking top democrat of the small business community. cfpb is an important agency for small businesses in this country. but i have a question to make. how many of you went to the

grocery store this week, or this weekend? i did. i had my family over and i went, and by the way, when donald trump took office on january 20, a dozen of eggs cost $5.7. yesterday, it was $12.49. in new york. so, instead of talking about inflation, because he promised that on day one he would bring inflation down, and so what is his doing? he is creating all this crisis to get people asking him whatever happened to inflation.

whatever happened to lower prices for working people in america. he is doing nothing. by destroying this agency, he is going to bring inflation down? i don't think so. this president is a fraud. a small minded person who cares less about people. heartless. the other day, i went to another rally, and this young lady approached me. this was protesting usaid. she walked up to me, put her hands over my shoulder, and said this man is going to ruin me, my family. i have three children and one of

them is going to college. my husband too, working in an agency. you're going to find ourselves without a job. -- we are going to find ourselves without a job. i said no, you are not, because we are going to be fighting for you. i don't want anyone to say that we are emotionally exhausted. we cannot be, because this is the fight of our lives. this is the fight for our children. this is the future of our constitution. it is about our democratic values. and we cannot be afraid of elon musk, of this president. all it takes is organizing. organizing. i was here in 2017 when he issued the muslim ban.

i was the first member of congress to go into jfk, and we changed the dynamic. we have the power. we must fight for the future of america and the future of american families. god bless you all. thank you. [cheers and applause] >> can i ask for a favor? can you show me what democracy looks like? >> this is what democracy looks like! >> our next speaker has only been on the job for a month, but she did not waste any time coming out swinging. one question. are you willing to withhold your vote until this constitutional crisis ends? >> thank you. good evening, everyone. first of all, such an honor to have these two incredible women

who have literally spent their entire lives fighting for this agency. please give them another round of applause. i am congresswoman jan semon and sorry -- yassamin ansari. i probably represent phoenix and glendale in congress. his people sent me here to fight for the grocery prices, further cost-of-living, and every single thing we have seen from this administration is the exact opposite. it has been just over 20 days since donald trump has been inaugurated as president and since he has pretty much handed over the entirety of our government to elon musk. [boos] i don't how about you, for me it has felt like so much longer than that because we know their entire purpose and agenda is to wear us down and paralyze us into fear and into feeling like

there is nothing we can do. i am the proud daughter of immigrants, and i assure you that i grew up hearing about, from my parents who fled an authoritarian regime, the habits and the characteristics of what authoritarian regimes act like. first of all, they take over everything. take over the agencies, the media, over every sphere of influence in public life, and they create this culture of fear, and that is the absolute last thing that we as the people in this country can let happen in this situation. this is a war for the soul of our country, and we have to fight back. last week -- we have to fight back. never in my life did i think that within one week we would see an all-out assault on usaid, on the treasury, on the environmental protection agency, on the department of education, and now the agency that is

literally designed to support and protect working people from fraud and abuse and predatory lenders. i can tell you in arizona, the -- this agency went after a brokerage firm that was literally purposefully preventing people from seeing competition when it came to housing options. in the middle of a housing crisis in phoenix arizona and across the united states, that is exactly the kind of scheme we have to fight back against, and that is why i am here today. that is why we cannot stop fighting and using every tool in our toolbox. we have to stop, stall, and sue until we take back our country for the better. thank you for being here. [cheers and applause] >> thank you. stop, stall, sue! stop, stall, sue! [crowd chanting "stop, stall,

sue!] we've got another representative coming up to tell us how to fight back. representative bill foster of illinois. are you going to withhold your vote until this crisis is over? rep. foster: that is the power we have. i am going to use it. i am congress's token phd physicist. you can applaud where you can cry. but that's the way it is. back in 2008, i was a young member of congress, a junior member of congress. and like every member of congress who entered then, we were holding workshops for all of the people who we represented who had lost their homes because of fraudulent mortgages. everyone who had been screwed over by businesses. signing contracts they did not understand. the card companies that had an

incredible strategy -- credit card companies that had an incredible strategy of fee after fee after fee, restructuring the order of payments to generate fraudulent ale years to pay -- failures to pay. when this happened, we took a bunch of emergency actions to save the economy so people could survive. and every one of us made a pledge that we would establish the rules of the road so this sort of disaster would never happen again. that became the dodd frank wall street reform, everyone knows that, and consumer protection act. that second part is just as important as the wall street reform park. i was 10-10 with my amendments to the dodd frank bill. [cheers] barney frank made an observation. when members of congress came to him and said how the hell did this happen, why is it ok that people sign these things, he said, well, if you ask who is in

charge of consumer protection, it was the federal reserve. barney's observation was if you are serious about that, the federal reserve is not the right organization. you need people like you who drive to work every day thinking about how to protect people against fraud. that is what we are fighting for. [cheers and applause] i have to confess i am not going to be able to finish this with a great rhythmic cheer. i bring all the charisma of the usual physicist to this job. but i just want to thank everyone of you who spent the last decade and more making life better for ordinary americans we are on your side -- for ordinary americans. we are on your side. >> representative foster, thank you. let us work! let us work! [crowd chanting "let us work!"]

representative, are you willing to withhold your vote until this constitutional crisis is over? reppo simon -- rep. simon: every damn day. we drown out every noise of people. i want to deliver a message to folks who are just tuning in right now from every cancer center in the united states, the mother who is waiting on a new treatment for her daughter, the father who is literally signing his whole life savings so that his son can go through stem cell transplants. i have been there. i buried my husband over 10 years ago. he died on father's day of 2014.

i told him that night that i would tell our story every living day of my life. when kevin, who was a young black journalist, when he got married and -- when we got married and had our baby, we deeply believed that everything was in front of us. i a young organizer, he a journalist. he got a fellowship at stanford and three days before he was set to teach, he got a diagnosis that changed us forever. he was diagnosed with leukemia. he was given three days to live. we took the baby to grandma's, and i sat in his hospital bed for every day of those three days, and i thank every single doctor and healer who surrounded us. but let me tell you this, we got two long years and my daughter remembers her father's face, but we, like so many folks, like the

televisions watching us right now, we lost everything. everything. the last thing we had left was kevins car after burying him, and it was impounded. i don't drive. i am legally blind. one of the disabled organizers in this country who will not give up. [cheers and applause] but when i think about folks like me who had filed for bankruptcy and gave all that they have, and i think of the work of the cfpb, i have to tell folks you have a calvary, so let them work! [cheers] so let them work. the cbf -- cf -- this cfpb has made sure that

families like mine did not hamper their ability to get student loans or get a cell phone or rent a car. for the folks who are the most downtrodden, the weeping and the disabled, this is the calvary. every day, democrats will stand and said -- stand instead to support the brave men and women who walk into these offices every day, day after day, to protect the most fundamental rights of the american citizen, and our neighbors. that them work. -- let them work. [crowd chanting "let them work"] >> i am getting chills. it has nothing to do with the weather. that was incredible.

representative simon, everybody. we've got another representative from rhode island, gave olmo -- gabe amo. are you willing to withhold your vote until this crisis is over? rep. amo: absolutely. let's hear it again for the great people of the cfpb. the thing is, trump and musk and their billionaire buddies know exactly what they are doing. they know exactly what they are doing. but there are millions of americans who are just tuning in. we have to let them know what we are standing up for. i have a few questions for you. what is wrong with protecting consumers? nothing. what is wrong with eliminating junk fees? nothing. what is wrong with avoiding foreclosures? nothing. what is wrong with making sure that banks do not take every

single penny out of your account when you ain't got nothing in it? >> nothing! rep. amo: not a damn thing is wrong with the work of the cfpb. in fact, it represents all that is right, protecting americans. i say to elon, take your hands off. [cheers] take your hands off the cfpb, because the american people are watching. and we are not just watching, we are getting loud. we are on the streets. we are going to be everywhere, making it heard we are not going to stand for in america running by billionaires. i end with this. we are just getting started. and let's stay at it in this

fight because the american people are depending on us for the future of our democracy. thank you. [cheers and applause] >> you remember trump's tiny little hands? what i say tiny hands, you say hands up. tiny hands! >> hands up! >> ok, we are having fun here. gregory meeks from new york, i've got one question, are you willing to withhold your -- rep. meeks: hell yes! [cheers and applause] let me first thank all the men and women who are working here at cfpb for you and what you stand for and what you do on a regular basis, trying to make sure that the average everyday american gets a break and gets justice. thank you for all the hard work that you do. [cheers and applause] and let there be no question

that we are not going to allow the look arcs that are around the person --allow the oligarchs around the person that is president of the united states to destroy who we are as american citizens. we are going to stand and fight and our voices are going to be heard until we get done what is right, what is just for everyone. [cheers and applause] i happen to be here in congress when maxine waters and i and others decided it was important to have a bureau that was focused on one thing, the consumer. we have agencies and bureaus that are focused on everything else. we had nothing for the consumer. but we had was the greatest financial crisis since the great

depression, when hundreds of thousands of americans lost their homes and their livelihood , were bankrupt with no agency with anything or anyone there to protect them. they were defrauded. we happen to know that the person who is ahead of the united states of america happened to commit fraud and some other things in the past. what would you think that person would do when they came back into office? the first thing they wanted to do was try to dismantle things that would level the playing field for the average everyday person because that is what he is trying to do by destroying the cfpb and closing it down for his oligarch friends. but we are not going to let that happen. i will tell you this, and when i listened to lateefah, it remind

me of the story with my dad. i am in this country because it is the greatest country the planet has ever seen, and it is great because average, everyday people like the people right here decided to stand up and say we are going to make this nation greater than it has ever been by pushing forward and making things happen. i grew up in public housing. my dad had very little money. my mother had very little money. i can recall as a child them being ripped off, time and time again, simply because they did not know. that was one of the reasons why i determined i was going to law school, so i could help them and get them information. what is important is when you think about the work of the cfpb , the average, everyday american

who may not have someone who went to law school, who may not know a lawyer, who may not know someone else that can help them, because when you are living in public housing, you have everybody that a lot. -- that a lot of folks are in the same boat, so you need to have someplace you can go and seek information so you will not get ripped off by some greedy person who wants to take advantage of people. and what you represent is that no longer -- you save people's homes and you save them so they can continue to live the american dream. you are heroes of the united states of america. you will continue with the heroes and sheroes that make a difference so all americans have the opportunity to get information and not it ripped off by the super wealthy, but making sure we are giving people a hand up and not trying to pull them down. thank you.

together we are going to make sure that musk and trump don't win, the people, the power belongs to the people, people's power will prevail together. tomorrow is going to be better. thank you for being out here. god bless each and everyone of you. >> thank you, representative meeks. [crab chanting "let us work!" >> ] >> let us work! i'm going to invite the representative from vermont up here, but she's going to answer one question -- are you willing to withhold your vote until this constitutional crisis is over? reppo -- >> hell yes! it is so important for me to be

here today to represent rural america. representing all of those folks back home in vermont that cannot believe that the one place that they are looking to save money is the one place in government that is protecting all of us from the kind of fraudsters and scammers in the white house right now. one of the things i want you to do right now, i know it is cold, i want you to look around at all of the people who are here today. i want you to look around, and i want you to see we are all in this together. you are not in this alone. we are members of congress, and we have some power, but you have the power of your voices, and we say we have to legislate. we have to litigate. we have to agitate. you are out here agitating for all of those people who cannot be here today.

all of those people living at the end of dirt roads in my home state of vermont. here is the thing. i need all of us to think about the way we are thinking and talking about our fellow americans. i know that sometimes people will say things like we are here sticking up for the little guy. there is no little guy! they are just americans. everyone deserves a fair shot. everyone deserves a fair shot. we don't help people, they help themselves. they just want a fair shot. that's what this whole thing is about. so, i want you to think about the way you are thinking about your fellow americans. we are with each other. we are with each other. we are standing together so that everyone, regardless of where you live in this country, you know that you have a chance, the

same chance that every single person has regardless of zip code. here is what i want to say. are you with me? let's do it! [cheers] >> agitate legislate, litigate, agitate! legislate, litigate, agitate! ok, we've got seth from rhode island, who is going to ask a question, are you willing to withhold your vote until this crisis is over? rep. magaziner: hell yes. as a former straight treasurer, i can tell you just hand that the -- former state treasurer, i can tell you firsthand that the grifters and scammers will never stop trying to get rich off the back of working people.

we have seen that over and over again. we have seen well they will load up working people with overdraft fees and medical debt and subprime mortgages unless there is someone standing in their way. that is the cfpb. the cfpb -- [cheers] the cfpb is the cop on the block to make sure that the people are looked out for. donald trump and elon musk do not see it that way. they want a government of, by, and for the billionaires. [boos] and no surprise, one of the first things they go after is the cfpb, which has been protecting people from these predatory lenders and scam artists. but we are here today because we know that we have the law on our side, the people on our side, and we have righteousness on our side, and we are going to win. so, to all of you here today who have devoted your lives to

service and to helping the average person in this country thank you, thank you for your patriotism and service. we have your back, and to all the people watching at home who have that cop on the block and want to make sure we have a strong cfpb to fight back against the scammers and grifters, we have your back too and we are not going to start -- not going to stop fighting. thank you. >> thank you, representative magaziner. i have her jamie raskin is in the house. is that right? [cheers] i don't see him. we've got to say his name a little bit louder. jamie! jamie! i've got one question for you, representative raskin. we have been asking this of everybody. are you willing to withhold your vote until this crisis is over? >> multiple times, of course. >> the floor is yours. rep. raskin: thank you for what you are doing.

hey, everybody. you know, i realized a rally a day keeps the fascists away. [cheers] so we've got to keep like, -- keep meeting like this, right? i want to start by thanking the incredibly hard-working people of the cfpb who have saved -- [cheers] i want to thank the people of the cfpb who have saved the american people more than $21 billion -- [cheers and applause] from conmen and scam artists like donald trump. you have saved veterans, arm

service members, seniors, working-class americans, billions of dollars against the institutions that would rip us off. that is what government is supposed to be doing. [cheers and applause] if you are saving billions of dollars right now for the plutocrats and the autocrats and the theocrats, the dictators and bullies and ripoff artists, they will be putting you on the board of the kennedy center tonight. [laughter] [applause] these people need a basic lesson in the u.s. constitution. [cheers] elon musk did not create the consumer financial protection bureau.

the representatives of the people of the united states, congress created the cfpb. [cheers] and if somebody is going to dismantle it and tear it apart, it will be the congress of the united states, but congress will never do it because the people of america support the cfpb. [cheers and applause] the preamble of the constitution says we the people, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, promote -- provide for the common defense and support the general welfare and provide to prosperity the blessings of liberty, do hereby ordain the constitution of the

united states of america, and then -- and then the constitution and the very next sentence says all legislative powers shall be vested in the congress of the united states. that is article one. i have gotten mad at some of my colleagues and best friends to buy this thing about coequal branches. first of all, the word coequal is not a word. that is extremely unique. they want to say we've got three equal branches, well, why is congress in article one? why are there 18 different sections laying out all the powers of congress, including article one, section eight, clause 18, which says and all other powers necessary and proper to execute the foregoing

powers, and after all of that you get to article two about the president whose core job is to take care that the laws will not faithfully executed, not frustrated, not thwarted, not destroyed, and the founders were so emphatic about that in article two. one of the sections is all about how you impeach a president, ok? for treason, bribery, and other high crimes and misdemeanors. if we are equal branches, why do we have the power to impeach the president and he does not have the power to impeach us? ok? why is that? i wish article two gave us the power to impeach fake presidents too. because i would be putting in

articles tomorrow morning to impeach elon musk, who could not run for president because he was not born in the united states -- >> security. rep. raskin: he could not get a security clearance, and he did not win an election, he never ran for office, and yet he is collecting billions in unconstitutional foreign government a moments all over the world, and collecting and in violation of the clause, collecting billions of dollars from the american taxpayers at the same time. [boos] but, my friends, congress has the lawmaking power. it is the power of the president only to faithfully execute the laws they have passed. the president of the nine states themselves could not destroy the cfpb, so where in the hell does elona, michigan

and wisconsin. american university hosted this event.